Railway tie plate



Oct. 8, 1935. G. T. WILLARD RAILWAY TIE PLATE Filed May 22, 1931 Gear 9 TZUZZZQ'TQ,

as WM w Patented Oct. 8, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to railway tie plates.

In a co-pending application, filed May 22, 1931, Serial No. 539,201, I have shown Various forms of plates, provided with an upwardly projecting shoulder at each side of the rail base,

and various forms of rail retaining devices mounted on said shoulders to provide a yielding or non-fixed connection between rail and plate for the purpose of permitting wave motion of the rail under load without injury to track spch as results from loosening of spikes which attach the plate to the tie or which results from the lifting of the plate and tie from the ballast when the connection between rail plate and tie is a rigid, non-yielding one.

In another co-pending application, filed May 22, 1931, Serial No. 539,202, I have shown means for converting the normal yielding connection between rail and tie plate into a rigid non-yielding connection which is desirable for the purpose of raising the track by jacking up the rail between ties without distorting or otherwise injuring the yielding connecting means.

As explained in said co-pending applications, the shoulders located at each side of the rail bearing surface of the plate with which the several rail retaining devices cooperate for their intended purposes, may be produced by rolling the same integrally with the plate or by rolling and bending, or by casting from steel or iron. When such shoulders are provided with openings or recesses the axes of which are at an angle to and not parallel with the axes of the spike holes which are commonly punched vertically through the horizontally disposed plate, it is necessary, after the rolling and spike hole punching operation, to subject the plate to special machine operations for cutting the slots or openings in the shoulders. This extra handling and cutting of slots in plates in which said shoulders are integrally formed with the plates adds substantially to the expense of manufacture. It is one of the objects of the present invention to devise a method of construction of shouldered plates by Which the cost of production will be materially lessened. I

The main object of the present invention is to economically produce tie plates provided with various forms of shoulders with which rail retaining devices cooperate, which shoulders may be cast or otherwise formed separately from the plate and welded to the plate to firmly" secure the parts together.

Plates embodying the present invention may be made of rolled steel, cast steel or cast iron provided with a downturned and inturned end and may be secured to the tie with cut spikes, screw spikes or bolts, or both cut spikes and screw spikes or bolts.

In the drawing, I have chosen to embody the various forms of my invention in tie plates pro- 5 vided with flat tie bearing surfaces but obviously the plate bottom may be provided with transversely disposedribs or with reinforced portions located at the stress points under the rail flange edges, or both, and the reinforced portion may be provided with a short rib depending from and extending longitudinally of the reinforced pertion and parallel with the rail edges. Any desired bottom construction may be used but I prefer to embody my invention in plates wherein all ribs and reinforcing members on the plate bottom are formed with rounded non-fiber cutting edges.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a tie plate embodying my invention, showing a section of rail in place on the plate.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional View through the left side of the plate shown on Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of a modified 25 form of plate embodying my invention.

Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line 44 of Fig. 3 looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

In each of these figures the rail is indicated at It, the rail flanges at H, the tie plate I2 and the tie l3. A shim of compressed treated wood or fiber I4 is shown between the rail and the rail bearing surface of the plate.

In that form of my invention shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the plate i2 has welded to its grooved top at opposite sides of the rail bearing surface, an upright shoulder It provided with a base It and a hook shaped flange IT. The base l6 may be I6, extending into the slot 12. The plate I2 is preferably rolled with a groove extending transversely of the plate bottom and outwardly of each side of the rail edges, which groove communicates with the slot H, to accommodate the part I6. Near one side the shoulder I5 is apertured as indicated at 18. A rail retaining device is mounted on the shoulder 15-41. It is made of spring metal, consisting of a rail bearing arm I9, a plate bearing arm 20, and an intermediate curved 50 member 2! joined to the plate bearing member 29 by a sharply curved portion 22 which bears against the hook I! of the shoulder I5. This rail retaining device provides a yielding connection between railand plate. A wedge or spike (not 55 shown) may be inserted through the aperture i8, so that its end will bear on the rail flange H and its head on the plate 12, when it is desired to produce a rigid connection between rail and plate for the purpose of raising the track by jacking up or lifting the rail between ties. Without such provision the strain on the spring metal rail retaining device, when the rail is lifted, is unduly great and apt to result in distorting or breaking the spring. Screw bolts 23, for attaching the plate to the tie, and spike holes 24 are shown.

In the modification shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the shoulder 55 is secured to the plate by welding the base It to the grooved top of the plate I2, adjacent a rail abutting shoulder 25 on the plate. The shoulder 95 is apertured at 25 for the reception of a spring metal rail retaining member El. This member 27 is provided with a rail bearing arm 28 and a plate bearing arm 29, the reduced end 39 of the arm 23 being held in a recess 3i cut into the plate 92. Instead of a recess 31 the plate may be provided with. a groove in which the end 58 may be retained. The slot or aperture 28 may he made wider than the spring 29 to leave room for the insertion of a wedge for bearing on the plate and rail to produce a rigid connection when that is desired for track raising purposes, as heretofore explained. Welding of the shoulder IE to the plate 52 is indicated at 32.

By using conventional rolls for forming the plate body and welding to the plate the preformed,

specially shaped or slotted shoulders required for cooperating with rail retaining devices such as herein described, I have substantially reduced the cost of production as compared with the cost of an integrally formed plate.

Changes may be made in details of construction without departing from the scope of my invention and I do not intend to be limited to the exact form shown and described except as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:-

1. A tie plate having a rail bearing surface provided with a transversely extending groove in the top of the plate adjacent each edge of said rail bearing surface, and a rail abutting shoulder welded to the grooved surface.

2. A tie plate having a rail bearing surface provided with a transversely extending groove in the top of the plate adjacent each edge of said rail bearing surface, and a preformed base and rail abutting shoulder, said base being welded to the grooved surface of the plate.

3. A tie plate having. a rail bearing surface provided with a transversely extending groove in the bottom of the plate, located outwardly of each edge of the rail flange, the plate being slotted from its top to said groove, a shoulder adapted to project upwardly from the plate and extending downwardly into said slot and groove and welded to slot and groove walls.

GEORGE T. WILLARD. 

